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Across the regions outside Toronto, voters have made it clear that they love democracy as long as it doesn’t get in the way of things. Change is not part of the suburban electoral vocabulary. Except in those races where the status quo was not an option, the GTA stayed with the familiar.

Even Milton’s long-term mayor, Gordon Krantz, who has done as much for the asphalt industry as any other serving chief magistrate in the region, was returned handily.

As of Monday night, Krantz also became the longest-serving mayor in the country. With the departure of Hazel McCallion after 36 years at the helm of Mississauga, Krantz is now the senior municipal politician in these parts. He was first elected mayor in 1980.

To many, that will be an unsettling thought; though Milton has been the fastest growing jurisdiction in Canada since 2006, it is also a textbook example of the perils of sprawl. But in this Mississauga-in-the-making, the flow of developer fees still keeps residents and politicians faithful to the suburban ideal.

“What Hazel’s gone through with developing communities such as Mississauga,” Krantz told the Star in August, “we’re going through now. And we will go through it for some time.”

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Too bad he wasn’t listening to McCallion when she had her moment on the road to Damascus and transformed from being the Queen of Sprawl to become the Apostle of Transit.

In Mississauga, where change was forced upon a largely indifferent populace — voter turnout there traditionally hovers between 21 and 24 percent — Bonnie Crombie was victorious. Like McCallion, who endorsed Crombie, the newly elected mayor of Canada’s sixth-largest city has a pro-business agenda.

Unlike McCallion, she has been reluctant to address the $1.5-billion infrastructure deficit that the city is now experiencing. McCallion has openly referred to this as a “crisis,” but it’s not top of mind with many locals.

Still, the prospect of Mississauga without McCallion marks the beginning of an era of change, whether residents like it or not. Indeed, as much as anything, Crombie’s win most likely came because she is seen as most closely resembling her predecessor. Crombie has been less than detailed in her platform, preferring to talk in general terms about continued prosperity and “moving Mississauga forward.”

On the other hand, she has been specific about the need to urbanize Mississauga. “Are you able to walk to get milk?” she asks in her campaign literature. “Can you walk to recreation facilities or entertainment? The answer to these questions is likely “no.” We must change this for the good of our own health and that of our children.”

That may be an entirely reasonable position; but the implications for a city entirely dependent upon the car are subversive, if not revolutionary. Still, given the pressures of pollution, global warming and congestion, green talk is heard often even in the farthest reaches of suburbia.

So far, it hasn’t moved much beyond the talking stage. Mississauga’s long-promised dedicated bus lanes have yet to appear on Hurontario despite years of waiting.

The most dramatic outcome of the night was in Brampton, where voters turfed longtime mayor Susan Fennell after it became clear the town was no longer big enough to accommodate her growing sense of entitlement. In the end, residents had no choice but to rid Brampton of a leader who appeared to treat the community like a personal fiefdom.

If the re-election of Krantz was the clearest indication of suburban stasis, the return of Rob Burton for a third term as mayor of Oakville was a sign that, in the older suburbs at least, the desire for more urban forms — density — remains a factor.

There’s no doubt, however, that voters remain largely disengaged from civic government despite the fact it delivers most of the services upon which they depend. The truth is that, suburban or urban, voters are unwilling to accept the tax increases that will be necessary if their standard of living is to be maintained.

This was not a message residents wanted to hear; and, no surprise, it wasn’t one the candidates wanted to impart. They would have us believe they can give us more and that it will cost less. Others insist it’s the other way around. When the bills finally come due, they say, we will be paying more than ever and getting less in return.

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